Method for manufacturing plate having electrode with gaps
A method for manufacturing a plate (21) having an electrode (214) with a plurality of gaps (217) is provided. The method includes the steps of: providing a substrate (200) comprising a glass layer (210); coating a plurality of photo-resist protrusions (215) on the substrate; coating a transparent conductive layer (218) on the photo-resist protrusions and the substrate; removing the photo-resist protrusions and corresponding portions of the transparent conductive layer, thereby forming a plurality of gaps in the transparent conductive layer. The method of the preferred embodiment can provide a simplified process at a lower cost, compared with conventional methods requiring etching t.
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The present invention relates to methods for manufacturing liquid crystal display (LCD) components, and particularly to a method for manufacturing a plate including an electrode.
BACKGROUND Referring to
The common electrode 114 is a plane electrode, and includes a plurality of gaps 117. The common electrode 114 is a transparent conductive layer, which is made of indium tin oxide (ITO) or indium zinc oxide (IZO). When a voltage is applied, the pixel electrodes 121 and the common electrode 114 generate an electric field to control orientations of the liquid crystal molecules 160. The gaps 117 divide the common electrode 114 into a plurality of separate portions, to improve the characteristics of the electric field.
Referring to
Details of a process for forming the common electrode 114 are shown in
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As described above, a photo mask process and an etching process must be used to obtain the first plate 11. The photo mask process and the etching step involve relatively complex steps and high cost. Correspondingly, the method for manufacturing the first plate 11 is unduly complex and costly.
What is needed, therefore, is a relatively simple and inexpensive method for manufacturing a plate with a common electrode.
SUMMARYIn a preferred embodiment, a method for manufacturing a plate including an electrode with a plurality of gaps is provided. The method includes the steps of: providing a substrate comprising a glass layer; coating a plurality of photo-resist protrusions on the substrate; coating a transparent conductive layer on the photo-resist protrusions and the substrate; removing the photo-resist protrusions and corresponding portions of the transparent conductive layer, thereby forming a plurality of gaps in the transparent conductive layer.
As description in the above, the method of the preferred embodiment can obtain the plate including the electrode with the gaps without the need for an etching process. Therefore, the method of the preferred embodiment can provide a simplified process at a lower cost, compared with conventional methods requiring etching.
Other advantages and novel features will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring to
In a preferred embodiment, a method for manufacturing the first plate 21 includes the steps of: providing a glass layer; coating a black matrix on the glass layer; coating a color filter layer on the glass layer and the black matrix; coating a protective layer on the color filter layer; and forming a common electrode on the protective layer.
Details of a process for forming the common electrode 214 are shown in
Referring to
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The above-described method of the preferred embodiment can provide the first plate 21 including the common electrode 214 with the gaps 217 without the need for an etching process. Therefore the method of the preferred embodiment can provide a simplified process at a lower cost, compared with conventional methods requiring etching.
In an alternative preferred embodiment, the photo-resist protrusions 215 may be made of negative photo-resist material. Negative photo-resist can be dissolved by an acidic solution without being first illuminated by ultraviolet light. Therefore the transparent conductive layer 218 and the underlying photo-resist protrusions 215 can be removed without the need for an ultraviolet light source and corresponding illumination. In such case, the method according to the alternative preferred embodiment can provide an even more simplified process at an even lower cost.
It is to be further understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of various embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structures and functions of the embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
Claims
1. A method for manufacturing a plate having an electrode with a plurality of gaps, comprising the steps of:
- providing a substrate comprising a glass layer;
- coating a plurality of photo-resist protrusions on the substrate;
- coating a transparent conductive layer on the photo-resist protrusions and the substrate;
- removing the photo-resist protrusions and corresponding portions of the transparent conductive layer, thereby forming a plurality of gaps in the transparent conductive layer.
2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the photo-resist protrusions are made of positive photo-resist material.
3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the step of removing the photo-resist protrusions and corresponding portions of the transparent conductive layer comprises using ultraviolet light to illuminate the portions of the transparent conductive layer and the photo-resist protrusions.
4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the photo-resist protrusions are made of negative photo-resist material.
5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the step of removing the photo-resist protrusions and corresponding portions of the transparent conductive layer comprises using an acidic solution to dissolve the portions of the transparent conductive layer and the photo-resist protrusions.
6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the electrode is made of indium tin oxide and/or indium zinc oxide.
7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the substrate further comprises a black matrix, a color filter, and a protective layer arranged in that order on the glass layer.
8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein in the step of coating a plurality of photo-resist protrusions on the substrate, the photo-resist protrusions are coated on the protective layer.
9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein each of the photo-resist protrusions has a trapezoidal cross-section, the photo-resist protrusion having a bottom side adjacent the substrate and two oblique sides adjacent the bottom side.
10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the oblique sides are approach perpendicularity relative to the bottom side.
11. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the trapezoidal cross-section defines two base angles corresponding to where the bottom side adjoins the oblique sides, and the base angles are close to 90°.
12. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the electrode is a common electrode for a liquid crystal display.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 6, 2006
Publication Date: Aug 10, 2006
Applicant:
Inventors: Yun Liu (Miao-Li), Tsau Hsieh (Miao-Li), Sheng-Shiou Yeh (Miao-Li)
Application Number: 11/348,734
International Classification: G03F 7/00 (20060101);